November 18th show

TSA officers give a demonstration of the first Advanced Imaging Technology unit at John F. Kennedy International Airport's Terminal 8 passenger security checkpoint on October 22, 2010 in the Queens borough of New York City. In our second hour, guests talk about whether or not the TSA is getting it right with airport security.
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Michael Nagle/Getty Images

TSA officers give a demonstration of the first Advanced Imaging Technology unit at John F. Kennedy International Airport's Terminal 8 passenger security checkpoint on October 22, 2010 in the Queens borough of New York City. In our second hour, guests talk about whether or not the TSA is getting it right with airport security.

Michael Nagle/Getty Images

The Real Lawrence of ArabiaT.E. Lawrence, or Lawrence of Arabia, was one of the most well-known figures of the first World War — a romantic and daring character, he's been immortalized in movies and novels. But in a new biography, author Michael Korda argues he was more than a colorful character — he was a hero, whose struggle to create solutions in the Middle East could have made a difference to conflicts raging today. Korda joins Neal Conan to talk about his book, Hero.

Public Radio's 'Snap Judgment'In the spring of 2007, public radio launched a search for new talent. Anyone could submit a 2-minute audio entry demonstrating "hostiness." Four rounds and over 1,400 entries later, three winners were chosen. Glynn Washington was one of them, and now his show Snap Judgment can be heard on NPR member stations around the country. Host Neal Conan talks with Washington about his journey from the apocalyptic cult he was raised in to the world of public radio, about the art of storytelling and the split-second decisions that change our lives.

New TSA ScreeningMore than 1.5 million fliers are expected at airports during the Thanksgiving holiday. Many can expect to face tough new security procedures. The Transportation Security Administration requires select passengers at many airports to choose between stepping into a body scanner or being patted down by security staff. A vocal group of passengers and pilots complain that the new screenings are overly intrusive, not effective and possibly dangerous. Government officials insist that measures improve safety and remind people that there's one simple way to avoid being screened — don't fly. Neal Conan talks with Kim Zetter of Wired Magazine, Noah Shachtman of the Brookings Institution, and other guests about the new procedures and the reaction from passengers and the TSA.

Fran Lebowitz: "Public Speaking"Fran Lebowitz has led the quintessential New York City literary life. After arriving in the city as a young woman in the 1970s, she fell in with Andy Warhol and soon wrote her first books. While more than a decade of what she calls "writer's blockade" has famously stymied her plans for a new book, she's spent years smoking in cafes, writing biting social commentaries and sharing her sardonic humor through speaking engagements, with occasional appearances as Judge Janice Goldberg on Law & Order. Lebowitz's life — and wit — have been captured in the new HBO documentary, Public Speaking, directed by Martin Scorsese. Today, she joins host Neal Conan.